Don't try to run that game on us again

Published: Friday, October 5, 2012 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, October 4, 2012 at 1:58 p.m.

A little over six years ago, Heath Shuler moved into the 11th Congressional District, and Congressman Rahm Emanuel recruited him to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, although not necessarily in that order. All Shuler had to do was pretend to be pro-life, pro-Second Amendment and offer meaningless platitudes about the other issues, and he could win. Sadly, Emanuel was right.

Facts

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Now comes Shuler's former chief of staff, Hayden Rogers, trying to run that game again.

At the beginning of each session of Congress, members vote to see who will chair the committees and who will determine which bills get brought to the floor for a vote. This vote is much more important than any other vote a member casts in the remainder of the two-year session. It should be obvious that anyone who votes to put Nancy Pelosi in charge of naming committee chairs and deciding which bills come to the floor, he/she may claim to be pro-life and pro-Second Amendment but is not robustly committed to those positions. Rogers, if elected, will be voting to try to put Pelosi back in charge of the House.

Looking at Rogers' website, the list of "where he stands" on issues is not exactly an exemplar of boldness. To summarize: Education — he's for it. Jobs — he's for 'em. But he blames NAFTA and CAFTA for sending jobs to China instead of the onerous government regulations destroying domestic manufacturing.

Debt — he's opposed to it. It's caused by gridlock, don't you know, and he's — don't get ahead of me — against that, too. Energy — he's for it. He's for using "investments" in diverse domestic energy, but he makes no mention of real energy sources such as fracking for natural gas and rolling back harsh regulations on our cheapest energy source, coal.

Health Care — he says we need reforms to reduce costs. No clue as to what reforms that may include, but you can bet that it does not include the huge portion of our health care costs currently caused by tort lawyers. A survey by the New England Journal of Medicine showed that 25 percent of tests and referrals by primary physicians were unnecessary and were simply to avoid lawsuits. Add the cost of malpractice insurance, and you can begin to estimate the true cost of these parasites.

Infrastructure — he wants to improve it, so, one assumes, he opposes those folks out there who want to tear down bridges and rip up roads. He's for mountain values — whatever that means. Do flatlanders have no values? Shuler, his former boss, also claimed to have mountain values when he voted to strip workers of the cherished right to a secret ballot in union elections, which would have allowed union thugs to threaten non-union workers until 51 percent of them signed union cards. Does that sound like a mountain value or a Chicago mob value?

The Second Amendment — he's for it. But he will vote for House leadership that, almost to a person, vigorously opposes your right to keep and bear arms. Apple pie — he's for that, too. OK, I made up that last one, but trust me, he's in favor of apple pie.

Since jobs and the economy are the crucial issues for this election, let's look at who Rogers will support to chair two of the pertinent committees.

For Energy and Commerce, he will be voting for Henry Waxman, who voted correctly only 13 percent of the time in 2011, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In other words, Waxman voted against American business 87 percent of the time.

In line to chair the Small Business Committee, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez voted against the interests of American businesses 81 percent of the time.

Should we support someone trying to empower these people?

Our answer to Mr. Rogers should be, in the words of the late Big Al Downing (www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3Rd8M-Z8Fg): "So don't try to run that game on me. I've seen all there is to see. Let me be, I ain't no fool."

<p>A little over six years ago, Heath Shuler moved into the 11th Congressional District, and Congressman Rahm Emanuel recruited him to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, although not necessarily in that order. All Shuler had to do was pretend to be pro-life, pro-Second Amendment and offer meaningless platitudes about the other issues, and he could win. Sadly, Emanuel was right.</p><p>Now comes Shuler's former chief of staff, Hayden Rogers, trying to run that game again.</p><p>At the beginning of each session of Congress, members vote to see who will chair the committees and who will determine which bills get brought to the floor for a vote. This vote is much more important than any other vote a member casts in the remainder of the two-year session. It should be obvious that anyone who votes to put Nancy Pelosi in charge of naming committee chairs and deciding which bills come to the floor, he/she may claim to be pro-life and pro-Second Amendment but is not robustly committed to those positions. Rogers, if elected, will be voting to try to put Pelosi back in charge of the House.</p><p>Looking at Rogers' website, the list of "where he stands" on issues is not exactly an exemplar of boldness. To summarize: Education — he's for it. Jobs — he's for 'em. But he blames NAFTA and CAFTA for sending jobs to China instead of the onerous government regulations destroying domestic manufacturing.</p><p>Debt — he's opposed to it. It's caused by gridlock, don't you know, and he's — don't get ahead of me — against that, too. Energy — he's for it. He's for using "investments" in diverse domestic energy, but he makes no mention of real energy sources such as fracking for natural gas and rolling back harsh regulations on our cheapest energy source, coal.</p><p>Health Care — he says we need reforms to reduce costs. No clue as to what reforms that may include, but you can bet that it does not include the huge portion of our health care costs currently caused by tort lawyers. A survey by the New England Journal of Medicine showed that 25 percent of tests and referrals by primary physicians were unnecessary and were simply to avoid lawsuits. Add the cost of malpractice insurance, and you can begin to estimate the true cost of these parasites.</p><p>Infrastructure — he wants to improve it, so, one assumes, he opposes those folks out there who want to tear down bridges and rip up roads. He's for mountain values — whatever that means. Do flatlanders have no values? Shuler, his former boss, also claimed to have mountain values when he voted to strip workers of the cherished right to a secret ballot in union elections, which would have allowed union thugs to threaten non-union workers until 51 percent of them signed union cards. Does that sound like a mountain value or a Chicago mob value?</p><p>The Second Amendment — he's for it. But he will vote for House leadership that, almost to a person, vigorously opposes your right to keep and bear arms. Apple pie — he's for that, too. OK, I made up that last one, but trust me, he's in favor of apple pie.</p><p>Since jobs and the economy are the crucial issues for this election, let's look at who Rogers will support to chair two of the pertinent committees.</p><p>For Energy and Commerce, he will be voting for Henry Waxman, who voted correctly only 13 percent of the time in 2011, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In other words, Waxman voted against American business 87 percent of the time.</p><p>In line to chair the Small Business Committee, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez voted against the interests of American businesses 81 percent of the time.</p><p>Should we support someone trying to empower these people?</p><p>Our answer to Mr. Rogers should be, in the words of the late Big Al Downing (www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3Rd8M-Z8Fg): "So don't try to run that game on me. I've seen all there is to see. Let me be, I ain't no fool."</p><p>John Fogle welcomes your comments at fogle222@bellsouth.net.</p>